This year has been defined by significant growth, deep community roots, and expanded opportunities for our students. From the fields of Sonoma County to the halls of the Haas School of Business, our educational and workforce development programming has worked to bridge the gap between classroom theory and the urgent, practical work of transforming our food systems.

Growing the Graduate Certificate in Food Systems

The most visible sign of our impact is the growing interest in the Graduate Certificate in Food Systems (GCFS), which has nearly doubled to 35 graduating students this year compared to 19 the first year in 2019. This year, we enhanced career-focused programming, increased outreach, and made courses more accessible, leading to a surge in interest. Highlights include our welcoming gathering in Fall at Oxford Tract Farm, inviting our graduate students to moderate our career panel, and co-sponsoring a Food Institute Graduate Council (FIGC) fireside chat with author, educator, and advocate Chef Ann Cooper of the Chef Ann Foundation. This growth reflects how more graduate students are seeking to anchor their specialized studies — from Journalism and Public Health to Business and Engineering — in the interdisciplinary field of food systems. 

Graduate Certificate in Food Systems (GCFS) students at the Oxford Tract.

Bridging Business and Agriculture: Values-Based Supply Chains

In Fall 2025, BFI sponsored the second offering of the Values Based Supply Chain course, taught by Helene York in partnership with the Haas School of Business. This course challenged students to look beyond the bottom line and understand the ripple effect of organic, regenerative, and human-centered practices across the supply chain. Classroom discussions and guest lectures were paired with field visits to Longer Table Farm, FEED Sonoma’s distribution centers, and Cult Crackers, where founder and CEO Dianna Dar shared how a certified organic business operates at the production level. The classroom was also enriched by industry pioneers like Minh Tasi (Hodo Soy) and Jamie Nessel (Bi-Rite Markets), who shared insights on maintaining organic integrity in manufacturing and how to create values-aligned businesses that support sustainability and local, independent producers.

Career Readiness: From Capstone to Career

For our undergraduates, the Food Systems Minor (FSM) capstone, requiring 70 hours of internship work, remained a popular course. This spring, BFI facilitated 25 internships with organizations doing critical work across the food and farming landscape, such as the County of Santa Clara’s Food System Workplan, the California Department of Public Health WIC Program, and school and community gardens addressing food access and education.

To support career readiness across the FSM, GCFS, and broader food systems community, we hosted a suite of professional development events this year, including hiring panels with food systems leaders, graduate school and career pathway discussions, resume review and career mapping support, and regional networking events in partnership with Berkeley City College and FIGC. 

Students at the career panel with Linda Renteria of Casa Sanchez and BFI Advisory Council member.

Resume review night. Picture featuring experts and students.

The Mentorship Project: Year Two and Beyond

We completed a second year of the mentorship project and secured renewed funding through The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) for year three. The program connects undergraduate mentees with graduate mentors, creating a community for sharing opportunities, professional development, and advising. This year included alumni-led workshops on values-alignment, giving and receiving feedback, and best practices for networking, empowering students to navigate their professional trajectories. With next year’s TGIF funding, we plan on including paid student internships placed with our expert BFI alumni network working on critical issues. 

We culminated this year with an experiential learning opportunity and field trip with Conscious Kitchen to Richmond School District for an organic school lunch, educational programming, and farmers market. The trip demonstrated how institutional school food procurement can serve as a powerful lever for climate mitigation.

Conscious Kitchen event at Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond with BFI alumni, Aniket Aich and founder/executive director of Turning Green, Judi Shils.

A Heartfelt Thank You

The achievements of this academic year are a testament to the strength of our vibrant educational and workforce development ecosystem. This work is made possible through the commitment of our faculty, staff, and mentors, the ingenuity and curiosity of our students, and the deep expertise of our community partners who co-author these learning experiences. In the culmination of another academic year, we want to congratulate our graduating class of ‘26, 63 of whom completed their FSM or GCFS.  These students are entering a global field as essential agents of change and we are immensely proud of the rigor and heart you have brought to your studies.